Harper and Midwest Kind tours, gigs and happenings. Join us on our musical journey around this amazing planet of ours!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Harper and Midwest Kind April Blog

Hey Everyone,

We are currently on our annual tour to the West Coast of the US. We are in Salt Lake City, Utah today with a show at The Wine Cellar tonight in Ogden. March has been an eventful month. I found out that my new CD "Stand Together" was nominated for a 2011 Detroit Music Award for "Most Outstanding Recording" and to top it off I will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at The Blues Museum in Windsor, Canada by the South Canadian Blues Society on September 17- Wooooohhoo!!!

We started the month of March with a show at one of our favorite Michigan clubs- Billy's in Grand Rapids. We had an amazing show and this time we made it home without having our van flipped over :) We headlined a show at Fitzgeralds in Berwyn, Illinois which had a great turnout then we headed down to Bloomington Indiana for a show at The Players Pub. My good friend Justin Brown celebrated his birthday with a peanut butter cake and a jam with the band. Our new friend Patty also celebrated her birthday. Johnny Rawls also performed a great soulful set. We were so glad that Des Moines, Iowa has new venue for us- at The All Play Stadium Bar and Grill. BB's in St Louis was alot of fun, then we hit The Trouser Mouse in Blue Springs, Missouri, another new club for us.

Then it was onwards to Colorado where we had some perfect Spring weather. We hung out and relaxed in Evergreen for a few days. Such a stunning place to be, with an amazing mountain backdrop, a bright blue sky with just the right amount of snow on the ground. We broke our curse at the Little Bear Saloon where for the last few years, every time we performed there was a massive blizzard, but not this time. Another new club for us was Southside Johnnies in Colorado Springs. Great harp player "Maddog" got up and jammed with us at Jakes Roadhouse. After a crazy show at Lincolns Roadhouse in Denver, we did an over night drive through the mountains. Although the weather in Denver was sunny, that was not the case for the Rockies. As we headed up the mountain, 10 000 feet above sea level we experienced blizzard like conditions. We all know now what is it like to live in a snow globe. It was with great relief that we made it through the Vail Pass at a very slow 30 miles per hour. But there was more, once the snow eased, then we were hit with torrential rain and flooding on Interstate Highway 70. We could only relax for the last hour of the drive to Grand Junction. It was a hell of a night, that's for sure! We made it to Salt Lake City the next day for our show at the Sun and Moon Cafe which was a sell out. Great folks there and we hope to return soon.

My band Midwest Kind and I continue on our annual tour to the West Coast We will be performing in Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona and Texas then its back to Michigan then down to North Carolina for Merlefest.